It’s Delhi’s wettest May in 5 years, western disturbances keep heatwaves away

While the veracity of waves surrounding political personalities is still being debated, the premised May heatwave in Delhi and northern India is turning out to be a myth this year.

The Capital has witnessed its wettest May since 2009, leading to a significant drop in temperatures. Besides Delhi, other parts of northern India too have recorded relatively pleasant weather.

Moderate rain saw the mercury taking a dive in the city on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature recorded at 35.3 degrees Celsius, which is four notches below normal for this time of the year. The minimum, too, had come seven rungs down from the normal to 18 degrees Celsius — which is the lowest in the past 10 years — on a partially cloudy day.

In 2004, the lowest minimum in the month of May was 16.7 degrees Celsius.

The forecast is for partly cloudy skies, with one or two spells of light rain or thundershowers likely in some areas. According to Indian Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature on Wednesday is expected to be 32 degrees and the minimum 21 degrees Celsius.

Typically, a large section of northern India, including Delhi, gets a taste of heatwave by mid-May. But this year because of the higher frequency and duration of western disturbances – extra-tropical storms originating in the Mediterranean, that bring with them sudden rain and snow – many parts of north India, like Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and western Uttar Pradesh are registering thundershowers and rainfall, causing in a cooling effect.

According to official sources in the Regional Meteorological Center (RMC), Delhi, the city had registered 31 mm of rainfall till 8.30 am on May 13, which was 256% above normal. In 2013, the city had not received any rain this month. However, in 2008, Delhi had witnessed a record rainfall of 165 mm in May. The figure was 65.8 mm in 2009.